


What Happens in Gondolin

by Midoriyue



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: HEA, M/M, Reborn!Glorfindel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-11 03:47:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13515945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Midoriyue/pseuds/Midoriyue
Summary: Erestor believes what happens in Gondolin, should stay in Gondolin. Glorfindel, however, believes differently. When he's given a second chance to woo his fair counselor, he doesn't squander his chance.





	What Happens in Gondolin

**Author's Note:**

  * For [red_lasbelin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/red_lasbelin/gifts).



> Notes: To My Slashy Valentine, I hope this makes your Valentine’s Day a bit sweeter. I'm a rom-com writer so I hope I hit your request of angst, even if just a little. :)
> 
> Disclaimer: No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
> 
> Warnings & Spoiler Alerts: Please note that this story will deter from cannon heavily.

 

*~*~*

**PART ONE: DWARVEN ALE**

**_First Age – City of Gondolin_ **

Erestor tried his best to drown out the distraction. He filed book over tome back into King Turgon’s great library shelves, concentrating on the letters and trying his best to ignore, Lindir.

“Erestor, please, this might be the last time I get to see him before things become worse. You know they are tripling the guard and sending more scouts out to the border. What if they send him out to patrol soon? Besides, I know you would like to see a certain golden…”

“Lindir, hush,” whispered Erestor, interrupting his greatest and oldest friend as a dark stain of embarrassment tinted the pale skin of his fair face. Sometimes he wished he never told his friend of his desires, of his dreams that centered on a certain Lord.

Lindir huffed and eyed him with that practiced look of fond exasperation he so often did. Even so, Erestor cast a quick look around to make sure no one overheard them, and only when he was finally satisfied they were alone did he relax.

Erestor knew he was a worrier, and that was, to put it mildly. He worried about the upcoming battle that seemed inevitable now that Morgoth was seeking out the Hidden city of Gondolin, everyone did, of course. But he also worried about his apprenticeship to the Librarian named Caranthir and if it was the right course for his life.

He worried about the garden in which he planted the fruits and vegetables he so meticulously grew. He worried about the layout of his home and if it was arranged in the most efficient manner possible. He even worried about the tiny songbird that made its home outside his bedchamber window and if the season had been too windy for him… or maybe too warm.

“Erestor, are you listening to me? You know I only say this out of my love for you…”

He sighed and waited for the lecture to end. Lindir was so fond of them these days and since he had found a love of his own, he naturally thought Erestor should as well.

“You have to stop behaving this way or you’ll never meet anyone. Most of our friends are either bound or betrothed at our age. Don’t you want to finally have a lover, someone who will be there for you on these hot summer nights?” Lindir asked with a waggle of his brows.

“Shhh, they’ll hear you,” Erestor rushed to say.

“What? The books?” Lindir asked with a laugh.

Erestor gave him a flat look. “Funny,” he replied before sighing. “It’s not that I don't want those things... no one has asked me…”

“Nonsense,” cut in Lindir with a wave of his hand. "What about Fingoldir or Aerindil? Both showed interest in courting you. Even my Ecthelion was interested in you before I captured his gaze.”

Erestor huffed and blew some dust off a rather large tome. “Warriors, all of them. It’s obvious they would soon tire of me after the thrill of something new wore off,” argued Erestor. “I have nothing in common with the shield, the bow or the knife unless it’s the knowledge of where and when it was created in history. It would soon be over and I would be back where I started, alone. Besides I’m happy here…”

“That’s not the real reason you turn their advances away and you know it,” interrupted Lindir. “Erestor, you are my dearest and oldest friend, and the Valar know I love you, but you are never going to get what you want if you don’t act upon it. Nay, forget action. First, you have to at least go near him. How is he supposed to notice you?"

“I see him often, you know it’s true,” Erestor implored rather pathetically.

Lindir grabbed Erestor by the shoulders and spun him until they locked eyes. “Gazing at him from afar while he is with his brothers in arms at the training grounds is not ‘seeing’, Erestor.”

“I do see him otherwise,” he argued as he again went back to shelving. He was good at shelving. “Just last month you and Ecthelion dragged me to the races at the barracks. He noticed me then, remember? He teased me about my attire…  _again_. I was mortified, Lindir. Why must he pick on me?”

“Erestor, you were wearing black velvet in mid-summer.”

“He didn’t have to laugh at me and call me ‘Erestor the Sullen’, some of the warriors still call me that you know,” he admitted as he shelved a book just a little too hard.

“I didn’t know and I’m sorry. Honestly, I think he teases you because he doesn’t know what to make of you. You confuse him. He is surrounded by either staid battle hardened wardens or boisterous young warriors every day. You, my friend, are something he has never encountered before. Shy and quiet. He doesn’t know how to treat you so he tries to tease a reaction out of you.”

“That doesn’t make any sense at all,” said Erestor shaking his head.

“Never you mind about that then, we are going to Elgamoth’s betrothal celebration tonight and that’s final. You need to get out more and you’re wearing a set of my robes. Nothing black, grey or brown for you today my friend.”

Erestor sighed and leaned against the shelves. He knew his small battle was lost. Lindir could be quite stubborn when it suited him and it seemed today it suited him just fine.

*~*~*

Glorfindel walked beside Ecthelion down the busy streets of the market as he looked for a betrothal gift for their friend and fellow captain.

“I will finally see him again tonight, Glorfindel. It’s been over a week since he was last in my arms, far too long if you ask me.”

“Well I didn’t and I wish you would keep to yourself concerning your love. You’ve become quite embarrassing since fair Lindir ensnared you with his song,” jested Glorfindel.

“He is talented and fair indeed but it is not just his pretty face that bewitches me, Lindir makes me comfortable and he makes me laugh. Something we have less and less of as Morgoth’s shadow grows near.”

“So you’re saying you love him for merits other than his beauty?” Glorfindel teased, trying to lift the mood back away from the impending threat.

“We are the first-born, Fin, the eternally beautiful—”

“Or the eternally damned,” Glorfindel interrupted dryly.

“You have become a cynic in these many years since your majority, my friend. You know one would have to be a fool to marry for beauty alone. Your life would become as empty as an ale barrel in a den of dwarves, as they say. A life without proper love, that my friend would truly be eternal damnation.”

Glorfindel snorted and clapped his friend on the back. “When did you become such an unrelenting romantic? I think Lindir’s poetry rots your mind. A little less song and a lot more exercise should cure that up in no time.”

“You’re just upset he chose me,” teased Ecthelion. “I know you asked him to walk the garden paths with you one night before we were courting. I still had my eye on Erestor then.”

“Tis true, you have taken the only ellon worth eyeing that is not a warrior, and I never understood your fascination with the librarian. He’s fair enough, I suppose, but about as interesting as the browns that grace his everyday appearance.”

“You are too harsh,” said Ecthelion, giving his oldest friend a disapproving look. “Many would argue that Erestor is one of the fairest of all the ellon in Gondolin. And he is not dull, you just don’t know him.”

“Oh and I suppose you do?” Glorfindel asked with a raise of his brow.

“Aye, I do. He has sat with Lindir and I many a time for dinner and he is Lindir’s dearest friend you know. He knows much of lore and battles of old and plays the strategic game of war on the board even better than I. He would make an excellent advisor to the King if he was so inclined.”

At this Glorfindel bellowed his disbelief in great merriment. “An advisor? To the King? Aye, it would be better than Maeglin. It certainly couldn’t be any worse!”

“Hush friend, people can hear you. Just give Erestor a chance. Tonight he is coming with Lindir so strike up a conversation with him and see for yourself.”

Glorfindel snorted. “It would take a horde of wargs to drag a conversation out of that one. He is too silent.”

“A horde of wargs or possibly a few glasses of Dwarven Ale?” Laughed Ecthelion.

“Aye, would I be able to get my hands on some Dwarven Ale I might feed it to him, just to see him talk for once. He would probably drop dead asleep after the first drop!”

“Oh, I don’t think that is true. His friends are the minstrels and artists and you know how they like to drink and play merry. He might be able to hold his own. And I just happen to have procured a bottle of Dwarven Ale myself, so what say you? Should we share some with Lindir and his good friend?”

“Where did you snatch up a bottle of Dwarven Ale?” Asked Glorfindel his mouth still open in surprise. “You know it’s frowned upon. I've never laid eyes on it such a rarity it is.”

“Tuor. It was left over from his own personal stores from before he came to Gondolin. Picked it up somewhere in his travels I imagine. He gave it to me to pass on to Elgamoth, but he won’t notice if we keep a little for ourselves,” Ecthelion said with a wink.

“Aye, then let us see just how loose in the lips ‘Erestor the Sullen’ becomes after a few mouthfuls of the stout. We will see just how interesting he can be.”

“You’re a right ass, Glorfindel,” Ecthelion said with a shake of his head.

Glorfindel only laughed and looked at another small trinket that might please the betrothed couple.

*~*~*

“You look absolutely breathtaking, Erestor. He won’t be able to take his eyes off you.”

Erestor stood in Linder’s bedchamber trying not to fidget under the discerning eye of his best friend. He wore soft leather leggings, the color of cream and his tunic was the lightest of blues. Linder had also tried to appease his friend’s sense of modesty by allowing him to also wear an open and sheer summer robe that shimmered in the light whether by bright sun or the moon. “I don’t know about this, Lindir, I feel… exposed.”

“You’re not exposing anything for Valor's sake! You’re just not used to wearing such light colors and fabrics. Trust me you look beautiful and it’s a warm night. Do you really want to give Glorfindel more reason to tease you by wearing winter garb in such fine weather?”

“He will surely tease me for wearing this! I don’t dare wear this outside. Lindir, please, everyone will be looking at me.”

“So let them! And I say that when Glorfindel sees you he will be quite silent. I wager he won’t know what to say.”

“Glorfindel always knows what to say,” Erestor murmured as he tried to lay the robe more fully over his front.

“Come now, friend, we are going to a celebration of love. You can’t go wearing black you would insult our hosts and I absolutely forbid it, besides, it’s just for tonight. Tomorrow you can go back to wearing whatever you please and I won’t argue with you a step further from now on about your wardrobe, agreed?”

Erestor had to agree the terms were fair. Lindir complained of his wardrobe at least once a week and it would be nice to not have to defend his choice of garb. Nobody understood that he just felt more comfortable that way. Shrouded and protected.

“Fine, I will play along this time. You will surely outshine me anyways Linder, you always light up the room as soon as you stand by Ecthelion. All eyes will be upon you both as soon as you’re together,” Erestor teased.

“I really do love him. Do you think he loves me too?”

“Why do you doubt it? The whole of Gondolin tires of hearing his professions of love!” Erestor said, chuckling at Lindir’s sudden blush. “Stop being silly, Lindir, he adores you of course. And when you are bound in marriage I will be there to see you off into happiness.”

“Do you really think he will ask? If he wasn’t the Lord of a house I would ask him myself! But as it is I would have to marry into his house and I will have to wait for him to initiate our bonding. Sometimes I think I will go mad with waiting and we have only been courting a year.”

“You love him and desire him, Lindir, it’s understandable that you would want to physically act on those feelings. On your bonding night you will finally become his and he yours for the rest of all time, isn’t that worth the wait?”

“Aye, it is. I just hope he doesn’t keep me waiting too long or I may burst!”

“Just don’t burst into song. That would be rather ill-timed,” Erestor laughed as he ducked at his friend’s playful swing.”

“Let us go, Erestor, Ithil shines bright in the sky already and we are surely late.”

Erestor nodded and let his friend take his hand and lay it in the crook of his arm as they escorted each other to the night’s festivities.

*~*~*

Glorfindel walked alongside Ecthelion holding the bottle of Dwarven spirits up to his nose while smelling the contents. “It doesn’t seem any stronger than Miruvor. I wonder what all the fuss is about.”

“I guess you shall find out, my friend. I give it all to you and Erestor to sample. I want to have a clear mind as I mean to ask Lindir to be mine for all eternity tonight.”

“W-wha? But you… Marriage?” Glorfindel spluttered. “Are you serious? But you’re a warrior and there is a threat to the city. How can you think of love at a time like this?”

“Tell me, Glorfindel, when is there a better time to think about love than at a time where any of us may die?”

Glorfindel didn’t have time to ponder the question for in the next moment his thoughts were interrupted.

“Ah, look! There is Lindir.” Glorfindel watched as Ecthelion looked towards his beloved with such a tender gaze. He had to admit Lindir was beautiful and very charming.

“Ecthelion? Are you going to just stand here and stare at him or are we going to actually walk over to him? You know, if being in love means I also have to lose my wits, then I’ll thank the Valar to leave me in peace,” said Glorfindel.

“Oh, be silent, Fin. You just wait, it will happen to you too one day and when it does, you’re going to fall hard.” Ecthelion laughed at his friend’s snort of disbelief.

“Ecthelion,” cried Lindir as he ran up and grabbed his love in a tight embrace. Erestor let go of his friend’s arm and folded his hands nervously in front of himself and looked shyly to Ecthelion and then to the man that haunted his dreams of late. He quickly lowered his eyes when the intensity of the look Glorfindel was giving him made his heart skip a beat.

Ecthelion cleared his throat trying to raise Glorfindel’s attention and then spoke. “Now that we’re all here we can go to the square for the festivities, should we sit down next to the fountain? The mist will keep us cool on this warm night.”

He heard his friend speak but unknown to him was the topic as his head and his heart thundered as he looked upon Erestor. 

“Glorfindel? Hello, Glorfindel, have you lost  _your_  wits?” asked Ecthelion alluding to their earlier conversation whilst laughing. “Should we be seated by the fountain?”

Glorfindel nodded his head in agreement and then abruptly stuck the hand holding the Dwarven Ale out in front of Erestor, startling the shy elf. “Dwarven Ale, here, I give this to you,” Glorfindel said almost breathlessly while shoving the bottle into Erestor’s chest a little too hard and almost knocking him backward.

Glorfindel winced as he heard Ecthelion laugh while Lindir tried to help right his poor friend.

Erestor held the bottle and looked at it a bit unsure. He had no idea why it had been thrust upon him but he had never seen Dwarven Ale before. Through books, he knew it to be very potent and could not help but be interested in its composition. He heard someone clear their throat and he finally noticed that Lindir and his beloved had walked away. He was alone with Glorfindel and he was currently staring at him unrelentingly causing a small almost undetectable shiver to run down his spine.

“I make you nervous,” stated Glorfindel “are you frightened of me?”

“Nay!” Erestor cried out with too much exuberance. He flushed when a pair of ladies walked past and giggled at his outburst. “Nay,” he said more calmly, “I am not frightened of you. I have seen the way you help the cobbler when you see he is carrying too much to market, or when you offer your help in the stables when it isn’t your duty to do so. I am… not… afraid,” he trailed off uncertainly when Glorfindel gave him a curious look.

“You know, Erestor, that may be the most I have ever heard you say at one time. I did not know you capable of such a speech,” teased Glorfindel with a wink of his eye as he watched his companions cheeks warm over.

Erestor bowed his head, hiding a small smile behind his raven locks. He wondered if Lindir wasn’t right and there was perhaps the smallest possibility that the fierce blue gaze upon him now would somehow settle on him always.

He walked side by side with Glorfindel as they followed their friends and he looked again at the bottle. He wasn’t one to drink strange brews but tonight was a celebration. He wondered to himself and decided that sharing a few drinks with the Golden Lord could do him no harm, of that he was quite certain.

*~*~*

Erestor woke the next morning to pain in his back and a scratching sensation on his thigh. He felt down his leg and alarm instantly swept over him at his state of undress and the hay he could feel underneath his body.

He was in a stable. Nay, he was naked in a stable with only his sheer summer robe for cover.

He was  _mortified_.

He heard a small snore beside him and he went ridged. Daring himself to look his eyes crept sideways and saw what he already knew.

Glorfindel… a very naked and very much still asleep Glorfindel. It didn’t take Erestor’s keen mind to deduce what happened. His physical state was a dead giveaway but his emotional state was even more so. He could feel Glorfindel beside him in more way than one.

He was mated… bound to one to the elf beside for all eternity.

He tried to remember the night before, though the details came to him in hazy bursts. He remembered rough battle callused hands sliding over his skin and he remembered pulling Glorfindel into him sighing onto his lips as they fell down into the hay. 

Feeling his face heat he sat up so quickly that his mind and heart raced and his companion startled beside him and awoke. Erestor closed his eyes not even glancing toward the elf beside him. He daren’t.

“Erestor? What has happened here?”

He heard the deep in Glorfindel’s voice from not only slumber but confusion and controlled a heavy sigh.

“Do you really not know? Can you not feel it?”

Finally daring a look, he watched as Glorfindel seemed to search something within himself before closing his own eyes in resignation.

“Aye, I can feel it, but…”

Erestor sighed. “I suspect Dwarven Ale played a major part.”

“By the Valar,” Glorfindel whispered as he finally took a good look around. “We’re in a stable... I... what have I done? I… forgive me, Erestor, you deserved better.”

Erestor shrugged and pulled his legs towards him in an effort to cover himself as much as possible.

“ _We_  did this, make no mistake. As for the other, I suppose that matters little compared to everything else.”

Erestor knew the days to come would be more than difficult. Their families, their friends, and the whole of Gondolin would be privy to their private lives. Not to mention the fact that Glorfindel was Lord and heir to a house that had responsibilities. Responsibilities Erestor could in no way help him fill.

And now everyone would know he and Glorfindel had consumed enough ale to lose their senses and fornicate in a stable like a pair of men. It was behavior unbecoming an Elf of Gondolin.

Erestor could not help but notice how Glorfindel could not meet his eyes and the truth of it stung as much as the regret he could feel.

He swallowed back his emotions refusing to break. He would make it home first, he swore to himself. “Would you mind turning away for a moment? I’d like to get dressed.”

The Glorfindel he knew would have made a bawdy joke or teased him but this silent Glorfindel who obeyed without a question. He knew him not and it scared him further still.

He slipped on his clothing and felt panic at the thought of walking across the square in his brightly colored robes. Surely everyone would see him, would know or would suspect.

“You can look now,” he whispered.

Glorfindel only nodded, not bothering to glance his way before he also stood and dressed hastily.

Erestor watched, clinging to the wooden stable door for strength as he watched Glorfindel dig around for his boots and drag them on one by one before walking towards him, towards the door.

Erestor felt his breath shudder within him as Glorfindel passed him without a word.

“Will you not even look at me?” He shouted at his back as he whirled around.

Glorfindel stopped and turned toward him while still looking at the ground. “I… I’m… forgive me, Erestor. My Father will be looking for me.”

His hands fell from the door as he watched the Lord of the Golden Flower walk away. His heart felt like breaking but then Glorfindel stopped once more and hesitated before turning and looking at him dead in the eyes. Erestor thought he would come to him then but he stood still and quiet. Finally Glorfindel shook his head.

"I must fix this, Glorfindel muttered so quietly Erestor almost missed it. It was then he turned from Erestor and ran. He had run from him like a coward.

Glorfindel a coward? No one would believe it. Even Erestor would not have, had he not just seen and felt the blow of being left all alone.

*~*~*

Glorfindel slammed into the front door of his home a bit harder than he meant but he also knew he’d had to speak to his father with all due haste. Sneaking would do him no favors and he would not hide Erestor. He needed to remedy the shame he felt when he thought of what he had done to him. Glorfindel had little memory of the night before but he felt the full responsibility of its weight bear down on him.

As if right on time his father swept into the entry and nodded his head towards his library.

Glorfindel followed without question into the vast room and watched as his father rounded his desk and fiddled with some papers before handing a few to Glorfindel.

“I needed to bring these to your attention this morning but you were not here. Did you sleep at Ecthelion’s again?”

Glorfindel cleared his throat. “I… no, Father. I was elsewhere.”

“You are well past your majority and I don’t mind you running about but when it starts to interfere with your duty to your house I must speak.”

Glorfindel nodded having heard the same speech many times over, though his father hardly noticed as he shuffled through parchment after parchment on his desk.

“Father?”

“Hm?” He answered absently.

“I have something to tell you. Something I fear will displease you.”

At this, his father looked up, almost in alarm. “Is everything well?”

Glorfindel took a deep breath. “I wish I could say it was,” he murmured.

He looked his father in the eyes and charged in. “I have bound myself to someone, an ellon.”

He watched as his father stiffened and the papers in his hands floated to the ground.

“You’ve what?” He asked in all astonishment.

Glorfindel didn’t dare repeat himself, he knew there was no need. Instead, he stared at the ground trying not to see the shock in his father’s eyes.

“I’m sorry, Father, I didn’t want to wait for a formal ceremony. You know how I deplore the pomp and fanfare of it all.”

“So you married in secret? Do you have any idea of what your mother will say when she hears of this?”

Glorfindel winced. “We’re not married… not as such…,” he trailed off at his fathers gasp.

“You mean to tell me you have taken this ellon as your mate without speaking vows to him? What you have done not only effects the future of our house but dishonors him completely! Have you no respect for your chosen? How could you think to take him into our house in such a way?”

“I didn’t… Father—”

“You didn’t what? Think? That's obvious enough! I always knew your wants and needs lie with ellon and I was prepared for you to come to me one day and tell me you were in love. I was prepared to concede the matter but not like this!”

“Forgive me, Father. I know not what to say to you.”

His father sighed and sat down at his desk. “Do you care for him?”

“I…yes. I’ve known him long and he is… a very good elf.”

“Your swerving devotion of love astonishes me and your mother will be so pleased,” his father said, sarcasm biting him with every word. “Tell me why, then. Were you afraid I would deny you? Try to marry you off to one of Idril’s handmaidens?”

Glorfindel tried his best to tell him what happened. That is was an accident… one he only had a vague recollection of. But he couldn’t allow himself to even think the words without guilt pressing in on him, let alone speak the words aloud.

“Yes,” he agreed solemnly. “I was afraid you might disapprove of him, he is not of a noble house.” The lie stung and his father's disappointment was palatable.

“I see.”

He knew his father didn’t see, however, as he stood there with his face pinched and his shoulders rigid.

“Am I to know his name then?”

“His name is Erestor. He’s a librarian in service of the King.”

“Ah, the name is familiar to me. His father is a smith is he not?”

“I believe so.”

“You believe so? You bound yourself to this Erestor and you don’t even know something as simple as his father’s occupation?”

Glorfindel was silent as his father eyed him. He could not argue and knew doing so would only further his father’s suspicions over the entire situation.

“Bring him to me, then. We will bring him into our house immediately. We don’t want people thinking you’re trying to hide him, now do we?”

Glorfindel's head whipped up to meet eyes as blue as his own. “Of course not, Father,” I would never.

“Why do I get the feeling I only have half-truths?”

Glorfindel opened his mouth to speak but there was nothing he could say that would not do a disservice to Erestor and him both.

His father sighed once more and walked around his desk to grip him on the shoulder with a sigh. “Bring him to us, let us greet him and make him welcome in our house. All will be well once you are properly wed, you’ll see.”

Glorfindel placed his hand on top of his father’s. “Thank you, father. I promise I will not fail him, or you.”

Though before he could keep such a promise the horns sounded and the call had gone out. It could only mean one thing.

Morgoth.

The last thought Glorfindel had while running for his battle armor and sword was that his last words and actions to Erestor would forever haunt him if he could not make amends.

He set his guilt aside and made ready for battle, after all, nothing would matter if they could not save Gondolin. Save their home.

 

*~*~*

 

**PART TWO: ERESTOR OF IMLADRIS**

**_Third Age: The Last Homely House_ **

Sweat beaded upon his brow as he tossed then turned. Fire and ash choked him and he felt his breath leave him and his feet burn as he ran. Ran towards the King’s square… where he knew they would be.

He tried and failed to catch his breath when he stopped and took in his surroundings, and even though his soul cried out the scream would not come. Not when he saw Ecthelion lay downed in the fountain they had gathered around the night before, and not even when he saw a flash of blue eyes and a small smile before golden hair was gripped and set to flame before he tumbled backward. Pulled into the abyss with a swift sacrifice.

Erestor of Imladris woke with a start, gasping for the air that would not come to him in his dream. It was an all too familiar night terror. One that wasn’t always so brutal as to show him his greatest loss though tonight it had been. It had been many long years since he let himself dwell on the past and it felt like a bad omen.

Something was coming, he could feel it.

Erestor was a pragmatic elf, if any elf was, so despite his feeling of unrest he gently raised the covers from his body and slid out of the bed to start his day. A bath was followed by dressing and breakfast alone was always his morning start. Never any room for exception.

He left his bedchamber for the library as his desk was comfortably housed within its depths and lay just outside Elrond’s own work chamber. As he walked along the path he saw many who were peeking out of their chambers and groups of children wandering around and whispering excitedly.

Usually, his walk to the library was a serene and quiet time, a time of reflection and way to prepare for his day or a time to enjoy the air and the whispering on the trees.

As he arrived he found Lindir hovering over his desk wringing his hands in a distraught manner. He quickened his pace and when his friend noticed his arrival he let out what Erestor knew was a sigh of great relief.

“Erestor, thank the Valor. I’ve been waiting for you for half an hour,” he said as he rounded Erestor’s desk and embraced him.

“You are very strange this day, normally you would still be asleep past the noon hour, are you well? Something feels odd and on my way here I saw much loitering about.”

“I am well, be assured, but something has happened. I must implore you to not be shocked, Erestor, though how could you not be? It is certainly very shocking…”

Erestor watched his friend babble and look away, deep in thought. He raised his hand to Lindir’s shoulder and gently shook him.

“What is this about?”

Just as Lindir opened his mouth to speak the door behind him opened an Elrond stepped out followed by one of the tallest elfs Erestor had ever encountered. As his gaze made its way upward across gleaming armor and a mark of a house he knew to be long dead, his blood froze and his eyes snapped up to blue.

He frowned at the newcomer and snatched his hand away from Lindir and before his friend could reach out catch him as if knowing what he would do, he ran.

“Well, that didn’t go as well and I’d hoped,” said the tall elf.

“Did you expect it to?” Asked Lindir, a firm frown on his face but said no more as he had already said his piece that morning after being called into Elrond’s private chambers.

Elrond sighed. “This is not something any of us expected, and after your story and Lindir’s colorful additions, I can understand fully Erestor’s shock.”

“I already told you he would not welcome you with open arms, Glorfindel,” said Lindir. “If you want him you will have to fight for him.”

“I did fight for him… I—”

“I know,” said Lindir. “After telling me this morning about your words with your father I do think you had Erestor’s best interest at heart. But you acted rashly and cruel and didn’t let Erestor know anything and ran, you just abandoned him. What was he to think? He quite hates you, you know.”

“I do now,” Glorfindel said with a frown. “I handled it badly then, like a fool.”

“You handled a frightening situation, one no elf has hardly ever encountered and reacted as a young elf would do,” added Elrond, “but, aye, you acted like a fool.”

“Where can I find him?”

“East Library,” Elrond and Lindir said in unison.

“It houses some of our more delicate and rare books, ones we don’t necessarily want just anyone to have access to,” clarified Elrond as he gave him directions to the east wing.

Glorfindel nodded knowing such a place would be a balm to Erestor’s soul. As he made his way toward his beloved he didn’t know exactly what to say to make amends, not even after millennia of agonizing over it as he waited in Mandos’ halls. He only knew he could no longer live without him. He would do anything to earn forgiveness and have his love returned.

*~*~*

Erestor stood in the East Library with his back to a corner wall and plunged in darkness all around him; not having bothered to light the candles as he entered. As he hastily walked through the hallways he was stopped several times by excited staff and friends alike.

_“Is it true, Erestor, has Glorfindel of Gondolin returned?”_

_“By the Valor, It’s the best thing that could happen in these troubled times”_

_“I heard he returned with the strength of ten elves and shines like a beacon out to sea.”_

Erestor had to snort at that last one. Glorfindel was a legend to many to be sure, now a living one even, but there were limits to the ridiculous. They said his name with awe as if he was one of the Valor, though he could admit a returned elf was a rare thing, something only mentioned in legend. Still, a God Glorfindel was not.

Just as he wondered when his time was almost up, knowing Elrond and Lindir would reveal his location, he heard the door echo through the halls of books as it creaked open.

Light shined and signaled him as the intruder crept closer. So it was hardly a surprise when Glorfindel stood before him.

“Is there a reason you stand here in the dark?” Glorfindel asked as he lit several lamps along the all before blowing his own flame.

“Perhaps I didn’t want to be found.”

“Then hiding here where your friends knew you to be was not a very clever idea.”

“Aye, you’ll have to excuse me as I wasn’t functioning at my full wits. You see, I had just been assaulted by the worst kind of news.”

Glorfindel sighed. “I know you don’t want to see me—”

“Why are you here, Glorfindel?”

“To see you, of course,” he answered, his brow knitted and confusion on his voice.

“I don’t mean here, in front of me. I mean here in this realm.”

“Ah, well, you see I’ve been returned to serve Elrond and his house. That is until I am no longer needed here on Middle-Earth.”

“I suppose war is inevitable,” Erestor said absently.

“War is always is.”

Erestor shook his head, not ready for the upcoming conversation.

“I know you are angry—”

“Nay, I’m not angry, merely bothered,” Erestor cut in.

Glorfindel glared at the wall beyond Erestor’s head knowing this was about to be unpleasant. “Will you allow me to explain?”

“I think your quick departure the last time we saw each other rather says it all,” said Erestor as he made to move around Glorfindel only to be stopped by a hand on his elbow.

“You and I both know that wasn’t the last time we saw one another,”

Erestor gasped and yanked his elbow from Glorfindel’s grasp. “Don’t speak of it.”

“I do not wish to hurt you but at some point, we must talk about my death, and about our night together. I will leave you be, for now, but know that I will be here when you are ready to talk and learn the truth of that day.”

Erestor watched as Glorfindel left him standing there among his books he so loved. He was surprised really. The elf he knew would have raged at him, made him listen and others wants or feelings be damned. Only this Glorfindel was changed.

He supposed spending millennia with the dead would change anyone and Erestor almost let himself feel guilt for sending him away but he shoved it down deep. He could not let Glorfindel hurt him again, never again. He may have lost his heart long ago but he wasn’t one to lose his head.

*~*~*

Glorfindel sat against the wall and watched as Lindir played the melodies of Gondolin’s past upon his harp. He knew it brought them both a bit of solace and also a bit of pain, but he never tired of hearing it.

“Glorfindel!”

He started and looked upon his companion and knew the irritation on his face meant he had been trying to rouse him from his thoughts for too long.

“Forgive me, Lindir, you know I get lost in the past during these moments.”

His face softening, Lindir, nodded and played random notes on his harp. “This is the third day you’ve been in the music hall this week, nothing bothering you I hope, Glorfindel?” He asked with a sideways smile.

Not caring to dignify that with a response he instead opted for the high road of a pillow to the face instead.

Lindir smiled and tucked the pillow he caught easily behind the small of his back. “I’m sorry, but I told you he would not be easily swayed.”

“Easy?” Glorfindel exclaimed. “I do not even try to sway him or even talk to him of our past, but he will not talk to me about  _anything_. He sends his assistants for patrol reports, ignores my small talk at dinner and refuses any and all invitations to play war on the board. He hates me, it’s clear for everyone to see, and see everyone has.”

“Aye, he is rather standoffish but have you thought that perhaps you are going about this in the wrong way?”

“I honestly don’t know what more I can do, Lindir, short of trapping him in a broom closet and forcing him to listen.”

Lindir smirked.

Glorfindel scoffed. “I can’t do that! I promised myself I would be patient.”

“Aye, and you have been. Listen, Glorfindel, sometimes you need to take things into your own hands. You hurt him, wounded him deeply and now you rely on him to be the one to come to you? You’ll be waiting ‘till the end of Arda.”

Glorfindel's shoulders slumped as he picked at the fraying edge of another pillow.

“I don’t say this to hurt you, you know, only that I’m concerned you’re not going about this in the right way. Even when Erestor was young he was never the type to make the first move.”

“I’ve seen him scare the bravest of warriors with naught but his wit at council,” Glorfindel said with great skepticism, “don’t try to pretend he is frightened of me.”

“Valor save me from fools like you, Glorfindel, it is different and you know it. Now stop pestering me and go talk to him.”

“What do I say?”

And with that Lindir return fired all the pillows at his disposal until Glorfindel ran from the room. His friend was right, he had put too much on Erestor. If they were to come together it should be a joint effort, one they could look back on with fondness. A new beginning.

*~*~*

Erestor counted the number of delegates again and frowned. They could not all be housed in the south wing and he didn’t like the idea of them being separated into different areas to accommodate them all.

“What about opening the north?” Asked Elrond. “It's a longer walk to the Hall of Fire but it’s larger and our guest may prefer some privacy.”

“It’s the only thing to be done with so many arriving. I’ll tell the staff immediately so they can begin opening the rooms.”

Elrond nodded and made his way back to his desk as Erestor rose from his with his quill and scroll. He left the library and walked down the hall while absently jotting down thoughts as they came to him so it was to his utter surprise when he bounced off what felt like a very large wall.

He stepped back and rubbed his nose only just containing a small utterance of ‘ouch’ when he saw what or rather who he had slammed into.

“Glorfindel, is there a reason you're standing in the hall posed like a statue? Let me by.”

“Nay, I don’t believe I will.”

Erestor blinked, opened his mouth only to shut it and blink again. “I beg your pardon?”

“You’ve ignored me since my arrival and you know it. We must talk and I grow tired of waiting.”

Erestor stiffened. “You grow tired of waiting? I believe you told me that you would leave me be…”

Erestor trailed off when a group of young ellon passed down the other side of the hallway. He waved at Glorfindel to follow and he walked down to a private garden for some much-needed privacy. “You said you would leave me be.”

“I said  _for now_ , as you may recall. Erestor this is silly, we must speak.”

“We speak at council and when appropriate. I really don’t know what else there is for us to say.”

Glorfindel let out an angry hiss. “What about the fact I’m your bonded? Is that reason enough to speak to one another?” He bellowed.

Erestor flushed and looked to the doorway. “I’ll thank you to keep your voice down,” he whispered in angry tones.

Glorfindel sighed. “All I want is a chance to explain and even get to know you better. That night when I saw you at Elgamoth’s betrothal celebration I was awed by your beauty. I had every intention of courting you further.”

Erestor scoffed. “You teased me relentlessly! Always pointing out my hideous robes and laughing at me with your friends. You expect me to believe that?”

Glorfindel took in Erestor’s appearance and noticed not for the first time since his return that while the counselor still enjoyed darker colors he had become more comfortable in his own skin and it showed.

“I didn’t know how to relate to you so I acted like the brat I was and I’m sorry for it.”

Erestor sniffed and crossed his arms. “Perhaps, I can forgive you those transgressions but everything else is an entirely different matter.”

“I understand, I do, but I also understand that you are mine and shall be always. I don’t want to spend my life alone here in Arda or later in Aman. The bad blood between us, we need to talk to one another. Just give me a day with you, nay, three days. Give me three days of your time and allow me to explain and get to know you and then after those three days if you no longer want to see me I will then let you be.”

Erestor knew that in agreeing he was once again giving away his heart. He knew better than anyone else that if he let Glorfindel in now, let him in even just a fraction, he would succumb to the golden warrior’s charms. But as he looked into earnest and worried blue eyes he found he could not say no and he found himself nodding in agreement to the plan.

When Glorfindel smiled at him in such happiness it was almost like he shined from within. He was rendered speechless by his beauty so he again nodded. He was most certainly doomed.

*~*~*

Erestor stood in front of the chamber door at precisely half-past seven. When he had first received an invitation to dinner in Glorfindel’s private chambers for dinner he had thought it a rather impertinent request, but upon further speculation, he conceded that he probably just wanted them to have some privacy so Erestor himself felt comfortable.

So here he was, in front of the door poised to knock but unable just yet. Part of him knew that this was the logical thing to do as he was forever bound to Glorfindel. Another part, the loudest part, was frightened.

Finally gathering courage he knocked on the door and Glorfindel answered so quickly he must have been standing next to the door, waiting. It made Erestor relax just a bit knowing he was probably as nervous as he.

They ate dinner in what was almost comfortable silence. If not for Glorfindels awkward attempts at conversation. After dinner, they retired to a game from the realm of man called chess.

“I’m surprised,” Erestor opened.

“That I know how to play?”

“That you could sit still long enough to learn, actually.”

Glorfindel gave a hint of a smile. “I had a lot of time to reflect and learn new things, if you recall.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t sound so maudlin, it wasn’t all bad.”

Erestor looked him in the eyes, biting down all the questions he had.

“You're really bad at hiding your curiosity, you know? It’s fine, you can ask me anything.”

“What was... what was it like?”

“Cold and silent mostly, but sometimes the grief was so loud it was deafening. It was peaceful at times too and that was my favorite time. I learned a lot about myself in those moments.”

“Were you… lonely?”

“You mean did I have Ecthelion?”

Erestor nodded, holding his breath.

“Aye, I did. Though the years ticked by even slower after he was reborn to Valinor.”

Erestor’s eyes widened. “Does Lindir know?”

“Aye.”

“Why did he never say anything? Poor Lindir, I wonder that he does not sail to be with his beloved?”

“I think you know the reason, for both questions,” said Glorfindel with a raise of his brow.

Erestor nodded. He knew his friend would never leave him, not unless he was finally happy and settled.

In the end, Erestor won their game, he always did and was happy to do so. When Glorfindel laughed and conceded happily it stunned him a bit.

“You have changed, you know.”

“For the better, I hope?”

“Aye,” Erestor said and smiled. “For the better.”

Glorfindel smiled and set up the board for one more round. "I'll win this time, however."

"Well, maybe you haven't changed that much," Erestor said laughing moving to help.

*~*~*

The second letter Erestor received came early inviting him for a walk in the gardens. Later that evening when he knew Glorfindel was still with his men at the training ground he decided to go ahead and take that walk alone as the moon was bright and the air clear and crisp.

He knew he shouldn’t blame Glorfindel. Work was work and should always be heeded, but he couldn’t crush his disappointment. He would be lying to himself if he didn’t own he was a little unreasonably put out as well.

So later when he saw Glorfindel bound up to him in the garden, dripping with sweat and caked with dirt and smelling like the stallion he probably rode in on. Erestor didn’t mind. Because he knew the elf standing in front of him, trying to catch his breath and smiling at him like he was the only thing on his mind as he rushed all the way to him, made all his thoughts of bitterness fly right out of his head. Later when Glorfindel uncertainly leaned in to kiss him on his cheek in farewell at his bedchamber door. He let him.

*~*~*

When the third letter came he could not stop the butterflies that flitted around his stomach. He opened the letter and smiled. Lunch at the Bruinen and they were to meet at the stables in under half an hour if he was free. 

Erestor looked around at the work piling up on his desk and the correspondence he had yet to tend to. He flicked the letter on his desk and walked straight out of the library to his bedchamber to change. Work could wait.

After dressing in leggings and a loose and comfortable tunic, Erestor tied back his hair before grabbing his cloak to make his way to the stables. When he saw Glorfindel eye him up and down and his cheeks flush before he looked away he smiled. He no longer felt shame or fear of others seeing his beauty. He had cured himself of that long ago.

Glorfindel politely helped Erestor onto his steed and they made way to the river. They rode in silence for quite some time taking in the breeze and the view of the trees slipping by as they broke into a gallop.

Once arrived, Erestor helped Glorfindel takedown and unpack their lunch. He looked around and felt at peace. It had been some time since he had such an enjoyable ride, even if it was a long one.

“Why here?” Asked Erestor as he laid food upon the blanket. “It’s quite a long ride for a lunch rendezvous.”

“Two reasons. I think it’s time we address the oliphant in the room so I wanted a place secluded enough that you could make free to yell at me as much as you pleased, and the second, the ride back is long. If my plans for forgiveness fail I’ll have quite a bit of time to plead my case again on the way home.”

“Erestor sighed. “I suppose we should finally get this over with. Though I’m reluctant to ruin such a pleasant afternoon.”

Glorfindel reached up and let his fingers slide across Erestor’s cheek. “We cannot let it fester any longer.”

“I suppose,” Erestor said with a slight pout. He knew himself well enough that anything Glorfindel said in the next moments about their bonding night was probably going to make him angry.

“Would you like to sit down?” Asked Glorfindel.

“No, I think standing is better for this.”

Glorfindel swallowed and nodded. “It might be easier if you ask me questions.”

Erestor wrapped his cloak around himself a little tighter and cleared his throat. “All right, the first thing I want to know is why did you leave like that? Do you know how horrible I felt?”

Glorfindel closed his eyes and Erestor thought for just a moment he wasn’t going to answer.

“Because I was ashamed.”

“Ashamed?” Asked Erestor, his face and the tips of his ears hot and angry. “That’s just... so glad we had this conversation—”

“Not of you!” Glorfindel hastily added. “Never of you, but in the way it all happened. You know who I was then. I had duties and responsibilities to my family. When I woke that morning I was horrified, not because it was you, but because it felt so beneath you. You deserved so much more. To be properly courted and wooed. Not taken and bound to a brute who couldn't control himself.”

“Glorfindel, I didn’t care about any of those things, especially in that moment. I just wanted to know I wasn’t alone. And we both made the decision to... I was there too, remember? So don't take my responsibility away from me, I won't have it. It's something we both wanted, despite the way it happened.”

“I know, believe me, I know. I've had many years to reflect upon my mistakes. But at the time the only thing I could think of to do was rush home and tell my father. I wanted to bring you into my house as soon as possible to quell any unsavory gossip. I wanted to wed you, not hide you like a secret or have the entirety of Gondolin talking about our binding like a sordid mistake so I went to him and told him I took you for my own. I needed to mend everything.”

Erestor sighed. “I thought you had gone to your father to somehow find a way to avoid our bond. I thought you wanted to be rid of me and he would send you away or I would find myself on a ship to Valinor.”

“What? Nay!” Glorfindel yelled in shock before rubbing his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Erestor. I should have held you that morning, talked to you, included you in my thoughts and even asked your permission to tell my father. Instead, I ran off barreling towards what I wanted with the all the grace of a warg. I never meant to hurt you and then it was too late, we ran out of time, you and I.”

Erestor blinked away tears, not wanting to remember.

“Maybe we didn’t happen in the most traditional way,” said Glorfindel. “But I don’t regret us. I only regretted the harm it might bring you. I didn’t want your good name bandied about and destroyed. You have to admit ours was not the most typical of bonding ceremonies.”

Erestor snorted before smiling. “That’s an understatement.”

“Do you think you can forgive me and my foolishness?”

Erestor looked at him long and knew the day he accepted the first letter he had made up his mind to forgive. “Aye, though from now on I expect to be included in any and all decisions about our life together.”

Glorfindel slipped forward and wrapped his hands around Erestor’s waist, the latter's hands coming to rest upon his chest.

“Was your father angry?”

“At first, though more so because he felt I had acted towards you with dishonor. He recalled you, and your father. He told me to bring you home to him and I was on my way back to you when the call sounded.”

Erestor nodded against his chest unable to form words. Just gripping Glorfindel’s tunic as he tried to banish thought’s of death from his mind.

“Lindir told me you saw everything and you stopped him from going into the square that day.”

“Aye, I could not let him see Ecthelion that way. I grasped him by the hand and we ran through the pass together, guiding women and children as we went. We had no weapons, only rocks from the ground to protect us until the guard showed. There was no time for anything. The city was lost before the battle started.”

Glorfindel nodded remembering it well. Mandos’ halls might heal hurt and pain, but it did nothing to dull one's memories, good or bad.

“Are you hungry?” Glorfindel asked wrapping his arms a bit tighter, reluctant to step out of the embrace.

“Not particularly, nay. Are you?”

“Nay, I’m happy right where I am.”

Erestor smiled and closed his eyes taking in everything. Forgiveness washed over him and he let go of his anger and his resentment and allowed himself to feel the full weight of the arms around him.

They had been granted a second chance and he didn’t want to ignore that. He couldn’t, his heart would not let him any longer.

*~*~*

Erestor stood on the dock with his arm wrapped around Lindir as they both stared out into the sea.

“I’m happy for you, Lindir, even as I am sad for myself.”

“You are newly wed, my friend, I forbid you to be sad. Besides, we shall be together once again.”

Erestor nodded and looked back toward Glorfindel who was laughing at something Cirdan said, something bawdy no doubt.

“I suppose you should board, you are the last one to do so it seems,” Erestor said as he looked around the empty dock filled with elves only a moment ago.

“I suppose I should. Promise me you’ll be ridiculously happy and that you won’t linger long.”

“Only long enough for Glorfindel to fulfill his oath. Send Ecthelion our greetings, won’t you?”

Lindir nodded as he turned to embrace his oldest friend and Erestor held him tight before finally letting go.

He watched as Lindir boarded the ship and felt Glorfindel come up behind him, placing his hands on his shoulders and pulling him back toward him. “Did you see him off well?”

“Aye,” he said, his voice trembling a little, grateful for Glorfindel's embrace.

Glorfindel turned him toward him and placed a mall kiss on his husband's forehead. “They say the cure for anything is salt water. Sweat, tears or the sea,” he said as he wiped a fallen tear from Erestor’s fair face.

“The sea?” Erestor asked, looking back, looking west.

“Aye, but not yet, my beloved, not yet,” he said as he took Erestor’s chin in hand and turned his attention back toward him. He leaned into him, placing a soft kiss upon his lips.

One day the would follow Lindir, one day they would let the sea cure all that ailed them, and they would live on forever… together.

*~*~*

The End.

 

 

 


End file.
